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The Nidafjolr
The Nidafjolr (The Froststones/Onyxheart) The Froststones/Onyxheart are the descendants of the Ironcrown High King Ralinor's lost company of the untested Expeditionary Royal Marines. The High King having desired lands beyond the Shadetalon Mountains, had the company formed from members of the Clans of Blackshield and Rockhammer – the two clans both attempting to wrangle control of Blackhouse from the officially backed Bladebreakers Clan. With only controlled training and no real experience, the newly formed company was sent north through the subterranean river system up into the North Sea where it became lost to the Shadetalon kingdoms for several thousand years. It has only been within the last two or three hundred years since contact has been reestablished, though very limited. History It began shortly after he founding of trading post of Blackhouse and Clan Bladebreakers placed into control of it by the High King Ralinor himself. Both Clan Blackshield and Rockhammer, who were in the originally running to take command of Blackhouse, felt cheated by the High King's choice in Clan Bladebreakers, who were not in the running at all. The two clans, though not together, began to use various means to discredit the Bladebreakers – typically using truthful accounts of their poor money handling and records in the Royal army. But with each discrediting comment, the High King and his advisers were always there to praise the strengths of Clan Bladebreakers and eventually bring into the negative the attempts of the other two clans for their attempts to discredit. Following the discoveries of the vast subterranean river systems and how they connect all over, the High King's Royal Navy was established. And with the Royal Army, mandatory service for several years became the standard – especially in Clans whose holdings are nearest these waterways. With the increasing attacks upon Bladebreakers by Blackshield and Rockhammer, it was quickly devised by the High King that the two clans would be “fine additions” to the Royal Navy as a newly formed branch of it – the Royal Marines. The two Clans were quickly rounded up and forced into their new role. With only a handful of years of training and no field experience, the two clans now known as the Expeditionary Royal Marines, were sent to investigate a set of small islands in the northern sea. Upon four ships they made their way up through the vast river system and eventually broke into the northern sea, having mapped their course and left markings upon stones on the cliffs and shores as they passed them. After what seemed to be a year at sea, they found the islands. Though it is here where things went sour for the company as their ships broke apart upon the hard coral reefs near the shores of the islands. The Marines quickly came upon shore, taking what supplies they could muster in their flight with them, and established a base. After a few days of recovering and assessing their situation, it quickly became apparent that their only means back had been sunk – so the engineers devised plans to build a ship to take them home. Many supplies remained in the wreckage off the coast, but they could not risk swimming in and out to gather supplies with unknown tide pattern or presence of predators in the waters. So in order to get what they needed, many began to gather supplies from the wilderness of the island while a handful explored the island for signs of civilization or what dangers may lurk there. During their exploration of the island they discovered that once a tribe of Humans dwelt here, at least into the age of iron given their weaponry and tools. There were no signs of where they went or how they might of met their end, no bodies or blood or other remains were ever found. What writings they could find were impossible to translated but the word, Nidafjol, was repeated over and over – so it was eventually decided that would be the name of this island as the Marines took the word to refer to the great black stone mountains that were present upon the island. By the time the explorers returned to the main base, the work on the ship began. A great maul, known as the Crownwrought, was unpacked from one of the surviving crates and used as the primary tool during the creation of the ship. The ship itself took four years to make, during which much of the morale of the Marines had been lowered or lost when it was evident no rescue parties had been sent after them. Once the ship was finished, it was inspiring to the Dwarves but this was short lived when it was erupted into flames by a demonic creature that rose from the island's deepest interior regions – a place not yet explored. Enraged, the Dwarves quickly gave chase to the creature who summoned forth numerous minions to battle. A great battle took place as the Dwarves torn through these demonic beings, with minimal losses, until they came before a great gateway. The gateway was made of the darkest of obsidian carved with foul glowing runes that housed a pulsing purple hued gateway that seemed to ripple with magical presence. The great demon, now referring to itself as Serent, appeared once more before the Dwarves as it took upon the form of a towering beast with wings of flame and smoke, referred to by the Marines as a Balrog. Serent was immensely powerful, more so than the collective of other demons put together and it proved too powerful for the Dwarves to defeat. As many laid dead, the creature spoke and told the surviving Dwarves of its plans to invade the world and conquer it section by section, starting with their homelands. Valrig Blackshield hearing this speech lifted up Crownwrought from the hands of the dead commander and charged the Balrog with it. The other surviving Dwarves joining his charge, they collided with the demon and sent it hurling back into the gateway Using their blood, they sealed the gateway – thus becoming its guardians for the first time. Laws and traditions were established over the coming of years under the rulership of Valrig Blackshield as all attempts to leave the island were scrapped as their new directive was to guard the gateway. They learned to use the land to farm, the sea to fish, the mountains to mine once more, and the forests for game and medicines. All members of the former Marines were trained in combat, how to seal the gate with their blood, secret methods of communication using signals and sounds, and many other tactics to survive any more of these demonic creatures. And there would be more, every so many years when the blood began to thin to prevent one's escape – the process was repeated, with more blood applied each time. Though the power of the blood would be dependent on one's determination so often additional coats had to be done to ensure a year without the creatures. Throughout the years the two Clans intermingled and soon there were four Clans that existed until the first two gave way and absorbed into the younger two – Onyxheart and Froststones. Life change dramatically for the former Marines, who began to call themselves collectively as the Nidafjolr. Various Information and Culture The Nidafjolr Dwarves are quite different from their ancestory who were Ironcrowns and noticably different from their distant cousins of the Hammerstones. These Dwarves are very accustom to the snow and ice that are common upon Nidafjol and have adapated tools to ensure they survive these dangerous winters. They are slightly taller than the average Ironcrown, usually by three to four inches, and are a bit less heavy due to all the running needed to get back and forth over the island's relatively flat interior. Their skintone is darker in any season save winter, when their flesh actually seems to pale to match more closely the snowy white and greys common during that period of time, while their eyes are lighter in color compared to an Ironcrown. The various aspects of life on the island provides them with a characteristical sense of hope. Strong drink and flavored foods are ways to unwind and to enjoy life - as the crafting of both takes great skill and effort to ensure the finest of quality. Hunting for food is a group activity as it takes some effort to catch the wild deer and other animals of the forest, and to ensure the wolves do not attack the group due to the increased number of Dwarves present. The Wolves of the island are considered worthy foes and are often battled against by the Nidafjolr, often claiming pups as prizes to be raised as allies. The coming of age test for many of the Dwarves is to battle against the cave bears present on the island, these bears are of great physical strength and can easily kill a foe with repeated swipes. The Nidafjolr are proud and a tight knit community, even cross Clans, and many disputes are settled by strength of arms. Fighting is a common activity, especially in young men, who wish to prove themselves ready for training. Women are seen as equals and are expected to fight as much as men when the time comes. Battle is a thing many desire, it is what gives many the will to go on as it is what has caused their people to stay on this island for so long. Many are taught using the ancient weapons of the Marines while each warrior who comes of age is given a waraxe crafted from the island's fine metals. Losing one's gift axe is a sign of bad luck and often marking one as unreliable - until found. Death is a thing very well known to the Nidafjolr as the island, just itself, is deadly enough without the demons to make it worse. The dead are honored with their worldly poessessions, unless gifted by word of mouth or writing before the death occurs, are burned upon a special boat carved for death rites. It is believed this is done as they came from the sea and will return to the sea. A birth is a grand occassion and great efforts are taken to ensure the village is protected whilst the birthing is occuring and following it. It is a time for other adults to get merry and to teach children of the reason for such happiness. Children born during dangerous times with the loss of their mother are known as battle born and carry a certain stigma of war with them. Certain relics found after the first battle with Serent gave the Nidafjolr more insight into what they had inherited from the original Human dwellers of the island. These relics were considerably ancient, likely into the time of the great Titans, and were used to control the gateway. The understanding of these relics is very limited, however, and only the wise-men of the clans attempt any use from them. The ancient Humans who dwelt there are commonly referred to as the Northmen or Norn.